Happy Resurrection Day!

As many in our world focus on Easter bunnies, bonnets and baskets, we believers are reflecting on the most special event on our calendar--remembering the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ and the joy of His resurrection. We celebrate the empty tomb. We love telling the children the story of how Jesus died, was buried and rose again on the third day!

The truth of the resurrection gives us hope for the future. We look forward to that time when we will experience the resurrection of our frail, mortal bodies--when corruptible is raised incorruptible! We look forward to our home in Heaven and the grand reunion with friends and family. Those truths are precious to our hearts.

But the fact that Jesus arose and lives today should have significance to us, not just for the future, but for today! What does the resurrection mean to you in the course of everyday life? As you reflect on that thought, consider the words of the 19th century hymn writer, Phillips Brooks:

"The great Easter truth is not that we are to live newly after death--that is not the great thing--but that we are to be new here and now by the power of the Resurrection; not so much that we are to live forever, as that we are to, and may, live nobly now because we are to live forever."

That's a thought-provoking statement, isn't it! Are we living nobly, renewed day by day through the power of the resurrection? Are we more like the Lord Jesus today than we were yesterday? Last month? Last year?

Living in the power of the resurrection affects everything we do. It affects our relationships and our ministry. It affects how we relate to our TCE students and to the children. It affects how we view the world and the circumstances of our lives.

As this Resurrection Day draws near, may you know in a fresh new way "the power of His resurrection," and may that knowledge infuse your life and ministry with vitality and joy!

Happy Resurrection Day from your friends at CMI!

A Contest!

Okay all you IOT’s out there, here’s what you’ve been waiting for. Announcing the first ever Instructors’ Café Contest!

Instructions:
• Send by email to cheryl.oetting@cefonline.com one personal testimony of how a TCE course in which you participated as an instructor affected the life of a teacher. This could relate to how the teacher was personally touched or motivated by the teaching or how the course material was effectively used by the teacher in his or her Good News Club.

• The testimony MUST be accompanied by a picture of the teacher, the TCE class or the teacher’s club. Also, permission must be granted by the teacher and parents of any children in the picture to be used in our blog.

• The testimony and picture must be received in our office no later than April 30, 2007. One entry per person please.

• When sending entry please include: your full name, mailing address, daytime phone number and verification that permission is given to use the testimony and picture in our blog. Also, please put "Blog Contest" in the subject line of your email.

How will the winners be decided?
Your trusty,impartial blog administrators will evaluate each entry and choose the eight most inspirational testimonies with good clear pictures. Winners will be announced on this blog on May 11, 2007.

What do I get if I win?
Besides our undying gratitude, you and the teacher you tell about will each win a cool Ball of Many Colors! Think of all the ways you could use this durable, Wordless Book colored soccer ball as a teaching tool in your training, your clubs or for activities in camps or CYIA! In addition, the eight winning entries will each be featured in our soon-to-be world renown blog to inspire and encourage other IOTs!

Who can participate?
This contest is open to all credentialed IOTs or IOT candidates who have visited the Café at least once since we opened in January 2007. Participation by all full time department of education personnel, blog administrators (or Martha Wright’s dog!) is strictly prohibited.

So, get those cameras out, write down those testimonies and get those emails to Cheryl! We look forward to hearing from you!

Amazing Grace

Have any of you out there seen the new movie, Amazing Grace? If not make plans to see this amazing film! It is the true story of William Wilberforce, who led a twenty-year fight to abolish slavery in Britain.

Wilberforce had become a believer in the late 1700's and was elected to the House of Commons at age 21. His mentor and pastor was John Newton, the former slave ship captain turned preacher and writer of the famous hymn. The film depicts the bond between the two men and how Wilberforce was inspired to serve God by carrying out his relentless battle against slavery.

The film conveys a wonderful testimony about the power of the Gospel to change lives. You’ll want to cheer when John Newton tells William, “Although my memory is fading I remember two things clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.” When was the last time you heard that in a movie theater??

The film also shows the power of one. One man with a vision and passion is able to stand against the current of his times and turn an entire country in a new direction. Another theme is the power of love and friendship. Wilberforce could not have persevered without the encouragement of his wife, friends and pastor. This was a group who truly edified and strengthened each other to complete their God-ordained task.

The actors did a wonderful job of depicting these larger-than-life people. Wilberforce is not a plastic hero. He is portrayed as a man troubled by doubts and fears and plagued by physical infirmities. Yet, he is a man of extraordinary humility, compassion and courage.

So, what does this have to do with being an instructor of teachers? First, it should edify you in your task. You may wonder at times if teaching all those TCE courses is really making a difference. Remember the power of one! You have the opportunity to influence so many lives through your training courses. Not only are you influencing the teachers, but think of all the children you are reaching through them! Who knows but that your courses may be used of God to bring dramatic change to your local community or state!

You can also use this film to challenge your TCE students. Remind them that they may very well have a future William Wilberforce in their Good News Club! That child who is driving them crazy could grow up to be used of God in amazing ways to influence a generation.

And one other thought. The edifying effect of Wilberforce’s close circle of companions is a wonderful reminder of the importance of our bond, not only as believers, but as IOTs. We need to be constantly looking for ways to encourage and strengthen each other for the task God has given us. This blog is a great way we can do that. Even though we can’t be together in person, we can meet here at the Café for that little “shot in the arm” that will keep us going through another course.

So, go see Amazing Grace! You will be supporting good, substantive filmmaking and you will be wonderfully inspired in the process. For more info on the movie visit www.amazinggracemovie.com.

Resurrection Truth!

If you've been watching the news, you've no doubt come across the provocative report concerning archaeological "evidence" that questions the resurrection of Christ. According to a report in USA Today,

"A TV documentary, The Lost Tomb of Jesus, airs Sunday (Discovery Channel, 9 p.m.). The show's director, Simcha Jacobovici, held a news conference in New York Monday to unveil two stone boxes, or ossuaries, that they say once held the remains of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The documentary contends that inscriptions on the ossuaries pinpoint a hillside tomb in Jerusalem as the burial place of Jesus, his possible wife, Mary Magdalene, their son, Judah, and his mother, Mary. Finding a burial site for Jesus, much less a son and evidence of a marriage, would contradict the New Testament, the authors note, and challenge the belief that Jesus rose from the dead."

Actually, this so-called evidence was found some twenty years ago. But filmmaker James Cameron (Titanic) has decided it is time to unveil this find to the world. Some historians are saying this will be a bigger blow to Christianity than The DaVinci Code.

While it will undoubtedly validate the views of unbelievers and shake the faith of the skeptical, true believers will not be moved--though we are certainly annoyed at these ongoing attempts to discredit the Word of God!

How will children react to this news? If they have seen the reports on TV or heard adults discussing it, they may have lots of questions. Teachers might even hear some of those questions come up in their Good News Clubs.

So what is the significance of this development to us as IOTs? We need to be even more vigilant in training our TCE students in how they present the resurrection of Christ. Help your students to see that it is vital that they include this truth. They need to do more than just mention that Jesus rose again. Encourage them to do some teaching about the resurrection. They can tell the children that after Jesus rose from the dead He was seen by hundreds of people. Tell the children Jesus arose in bodily form. People ate with Him, talked to Him and touched Him. His followers so believed the truth of the resurrection they were willing to die for that truth in later years.

We have ample proof of the resurrection of Christ. Scripture says, "He showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs..." (Acts 1:3). We can't share all of that proof with children each time we teach, but we need to be diligent to communicate to them in small bites that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead and lives today!

TCExcitement!

We are always happy to hear about exciting things happening in TCE courses. Over the years we've heard about TCE students leading their own kids to the Lord while practicing their Wordless Book. We have even occasionally heard of TCE students themselves coming to faith in Christ as a result of attending the course. When you look at a new group of TCE students, do you ever wonder what God will do with and through them?

Recently, Carol Horn in Upper Michigan signed into our guestbook (see sidebar), sharing the exciting potential of her latest TCE class. In case you didn't see it, here's what Carol had to say:

"We are in a tremendous TCE level one with 10 super students. These include 3 teenagers, 1 dad (who wants to teach the Word to his 6 year old twins), 2 pastor's wives, a S.S. Superintendent, a grandma and some moms! Pray for this group to catch the fire of GNC ministry. 3 of them are helping me in my own GNC in Manistique! Praise God!"

Way to go, Carol! We are looking forward to hearing what God does with this great group of students! Send us a picture and we'll post it right here in the Cafe.

Okay IOTs--so what's happening in your TCE courses? How about sharing what God is doing in your neck of the woods. You can leave a comment at the end of this post or drop us an email at Cheryl.Oetting@cefonline.com. Send us a picture and we'll be glad to post it so the rest of our IOT family can enjoy your success.

Let's uphold Carol's course in prayer, and let's keep encouraging one another in this very important ministry of multiplication.

Reaching the Millennial Generation

What is your generational label? We all know (and some of us are charter members) of the boomers. Then there are the busters, generation x, and now the "millennial generation" (aka the "mosaics"). Gets a little confusing, doesn't it? Anyway, the millennial generation, born on or after 1982, were talked about long before they arrived. Many were predicting what this generation would be like. Turns out, they were wrong!

Dr. James Emery White, Christian thinker, writer and president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, has written an interesting article called, Millennials Rising? In it he discusses what people thought would characterize this present generation--and what the reality is. You can read his article on his Web site at, www.serioustimes.com. You may want to bookmark that site as it often contains interesting and thought-provoking information. Also, you may want to check out Dr. White's book, Serious Times, for your library.

The article mentioned above would be helpful for you to have on file. It might be useful in teaching classes in TCE Level 1 such as Importance of Conversion or Importance of Reaching the Child in the Neighborhood. In Level 2, it might be useful in the class on Basic Needs of the Child. It might also provide illustrative material if you do training seminars on today's child or children in crisis.

As instructors of teachers, we need to be aware of current trends in the way children think and behave. It doesn't change our message, but it may have a bearing on our methods as we gain a clearer understanding of those we are trying to reach with the Gospel.

If you have suggestions of other good resources concerning this generation, share it with us in the comment section of this post. Let's help each other stay current!

A New Year--New Changes

Do changes make you feel disgruntled? As we go into a new year we always wonder what new changes will occur in our personal lives and in our work. Some of us do not like changes, some welcome them as challenges. Changes can be positive and exciting if you let them.

We have made a few new procedural changes in the department of education. There is a change for registering TCE courses. We have a new form—TCE Course Registration. There is one for both Levels 1 and 2. This form is to be filled out at least one week prior to the start of your TCE course and sent to the department of education either by email, fax or U.S. mail. A second change is that along with the Course Registration Form you will need to send your TCE Course Schedule.

Where do you get the Course Registration Forms? We have already emailed the form to a few people we knew were getting ready to hold a TCE Course. So you may have already received one from Cheryl Oetting or from someone in your state whom Cheryl has sent one to. If you have not received one, then email or call Cheryl and let her know that you need one. Her email address is Cheryl.Oetting@cefonline.com and the phone number is 636-456-4321 ext. 291. She can email the form to you and you can then save it to your computer. You will be able to fill out the form on your computer and email it back to her as an attachment when you have a course to register. Or you can print it out and fax it or mail it.

Then right after your course has begun, be sure to mail in the Student Registration Forms as you have always done.

What changes have there been in your life in the past year or two? Have you had a change of address, phone number or email address? Or maybe you have had a name change. What ever the change may be we need to know about it to keep our records up to date. Let Cheryl know of any of these changes.

As you know we renew the IOT credentials every three years. And yes, believe it or not, this is the year for renewal. We usually wait until summer to reissue everyone's at the same time. As you can imagine that is a huge job. So this year we plan to start early and do a few every week, hoping to have it all done by summer—another new change. This is a good reason to make sure Cheryl knows your present mailing address.

Education is a dynamic ministry. There are always changes and updates necessary to stay relevant. We appreciate your willingness to help us with these changes.